Jack's Birth Story

I wrote my son's birth story in his baby book shortly after we arrived home in hopes that I wouldn't forget any of the details of this very special, exciting, terrifying, and most amazing moment of my life.

I was admitted to UMass Memorial Medical Center on June 26, 2019 to be induced due to a severe case of PUPPPs), which is an extremely itchy and uncomfortable rash that does not subside until you give birth. I was so nervous to finally be giving birth and for it not to be how I planned, but I was also so, so excited to finally meet our son!

I was given my first medication around 9pm and we settled in for the night after saying goodnight to my mom, dad, and sister who had come down from Vermont for the birth. Throughout the night, the nurse noticed that Jack's heart rate kept dipping so she had me change positions many times throughout the night to prevent these variable heart rates, which also prevented me from sleeping. Around 1am the nurse called the doctor because his heart rate kept dipping after each contraction, which they attributed to him not tolerating the medication they had given me. The doctor came in and watched his monitor, saw the dip in heart rate after a contraction, and said, "We need to do a c-section." I think my husband (who had just woken up) and I must have looked at her in such a confused and surprised manner because she said, "Yes, you're going to have a baby now."

The nurses and anesthesiologist came in to prepare me, meanwhile my husband started frantically calling my parents telling them to get back to the hospital and letting his parents know as well. However, when I sat up to sign the consent forms, suddenly, Jack's heart rate regulated. I remember one of them saying something along the lines of, "Well, you're baby is a little weird, most babies prefer you to be on your side, he likes it when you're straight up." So they discontinued the first medication and start Pitocin to see if he would tolerate that better.

By that time my mom, dad, and sister had come back to the hospital. Then, active labor started. All of the doctors and nurses (and all of us) watched his heart rate so closely all through the night, and he appeared to be fine. So they continued to increase the rate of the Pitocin and the contractions got more and more painful. My doctor came in in the morning (it was such a relief to see the person who had been monitoring my whole pregnancy) and was happy to see things were progressing slowly but nicely and predicted we would have a baby by that evening.

My mom talked me through each contraction as they got harder and harder. Obviously this is my only experience so I can't speak to what natural contractions feel like, but those contractions came fast and furious with very little break between. The nurse kept offering me pain medication, but I refused for fear of Jack's heart rate dropping again; mind you, I had fully planned on getting an epidural, but was so scared at this point, and hadn't progressed enough to have one yet anyways. It finally got to the point where the doctor came in to convince me it would be safe and I needed to get some pain relief or I was going to be too tired to push when the time came, so I accepted the pain medication.

I was finally able to get some rest (remember, I hadn't slept all night) and fell asleep between contractions. My husband, mom, and I all started to relax as Jack's heart rate had been fine for so many hours and I was finally able to get some relief from the contractions, so we all slept for a little while.

All of a sudden my nurse ran into my room, told me to get on my hands and knees, and came behind me to start rocking my hips from side to side while someone else was putting oxygen on me. I looked down and saw that Jack's heart rate had dropped to the 50's. At this point it all became a scary blur. At least 7 other people ran into my room and I heard a code going off overhead. I was so scared and just started praying. By 10:35am they decided I needed a c-section ASAP. There were people all around me. They gave my husband a "bunny suit," gathered the consents I had signed earlier, and it seemed like 5 different people were talking to me at one. They started me on antibiotics and luckily I was right across the hall so I was able to walk to the OR. Everything happened very fast after that and suddenly I was on a table with a drape over me and the kindest anesthesiolgist keeping me calm and giving my medication for this overwhelming nausea I suddenly had. As my doctor performed an urgent c-section, I just kept asking, are they close, are they close?

Finally, at 11:15am I heard the best sound I have ever heard, the cry of my sweet baby boy who was completely and totally healthy! I had asked for a clear drape so I could see him come out, and it was the best thing I've ever seen. They cleaned him off, weighed him and checked his Apgar scores, wrapped him in a blanket and immediately layed him on my chest, and I couldn't have been more relieved or in love. After almost having a c-section in the middle of the night, 10 hours of hard labor, and an urgent c-section, our little boy was finally here, safe, healthy, and perfect.

Happy First Birthday, sweet Jack. We love you more than you will ever know!